Several of Michael's friends wanted to try the candy bars he brought back from his trip, but there were only 6 candy bars. Michael decided to cut the candy bars into pieces so that each person could have $\frac{3}{8}$ of a candy bar. After cutting up the candy bars, how many friends could Michael share his candy with?
Solution: We can divide the number of candy bars ( $6$ ) by the amount Michael gave to each person ( $\frac{3}{8}$ of a bar) to find out how many people he could share with. $ \dfrac{{6 \text{ candy bars}}} {{\dfrac{3}{8} \text{ bar per person}}} = {\text{ total people}} $ Dividing by a fraction is the same as multiplying by the reciprocal. The reciprocal of $\dfrac{3}{8} \text{ bar per person}$ is ${\dfrac{8}{3} \text{ people per bar}}$ $ {6\text{ candy bars}} \times {\dfrac{8}{3} \text{ people per bar}} = {\text{total people}} $ ${\dfrac{48}{3}\text{ people}} = 16\text{ people}$ By cutting up the candy bars, Michael could share his candy with 16 of his friends.